OREANDA-NEWS. Daimler AG is continuing along its path of profitable growth. In the second quarter of 2014, the Group achieved new record levels of unit sales and revenue and significantly increased its operating profit from the ongoing business.

Worldwide, 628,900 passenger cars and commercial vehicles were sold from April through June, which is 4% more than in the same period of last year. Second-quarter revenue increased by 6% to EUR 31.5 billion. Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, revenue grew by 11%. EBIT from the ongoing business rose at a higher rate than revenue, by 12% to EUR 2.5 billion. Net profit amounted to EUR 2.2 billion; net profit in the prior-year quarter of EUR 4.6 billion was positively affected by the sale of EADS shares.

The significant increase in EBIT from the ongoing business in the second quarter reflects the very positive development of the divisions' unit sales and revenue, a better model mix and further efficiency gains. Exchange-rate effects once again had a negative impact on operating profit. Including special items, second-quarter EBIT amounted to EUR 3.1 billion (Q2 2013: EUR 5.2 billion). In the prior-year period, EBIT was boosted by approximately EUR 3.2 billion from the remeasurement and sale of EADS shares.

Compared to the prior-year period income-tax expense increased in the second quarter by EUR 264 million to EUR 739 million as the gain on the remeasurement and sale of the EADS shares in 2013 was largely tax free. Of the Group's net profit, an amount of EUR 92 million was attributable to non-controlling interest for the second quarter (Q2 2013: EUR 1,749 million). Net profit attributable to the shareholders of Daimler AG therefore amounted to EUR 2.1 billion (Q2 2013: EUR 2.8 billion); earnings per share reached EUR 1.97 (Q2 2013: EUR 2.65).

Daimler once again utilized the attractive conditions in the international money and capital markets for refinancing in the second quarter of 2014. The net liquidity of the industrial business amounted to EUR 12.7 billion at the end of the second quarter 2014 (Q2 2013: EUR 11.3 billion). The free cash flow of the industrial business profited from the earnings contributions of the automotive divisions and amounted to EUR 0.8 billion in the reported quarter (Q2 2013: EUR 3.5 billion); the prior-year figure includes proceeds of EUR 2.2 billion from the sale of the remaining EADS shares.

At the end of the second quarter of 2014, Daimler employed 280,829 (end of 2013: 274,616; end of June 2013: 276,044). Of that total, 170,649 were employed in Germany (end of 2013: 167,447; end of June 2013: 167,926); this includes the positive effects of employing vacation workers due to the good demand situation. From today's perspective, Daimler assumes that the number of employees worldwide will remain stable in 2014 compared with the end of 2013.